My Fiancee, the King
by Classically Cliche
Summary: AU. Once classmates, then friends, and now...engaged? Ruka Nogi's life is about to be turned upside down. Natsume's just not aware. With the fate of a kingdom resting on their shoulders, is there anything else to do but get hitched? NatsumexRuka
1. A Suspicious Engagement

**My Fiancee, the King**

( Chapter One )  
( **A** Suspicious _Engagement_ )

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AUTHOR: Alice (Classically Cliche)  
DEDICATION: the person who started this whole mess! (dreamsofdestiny)  
DISCLAIMER: All characters involved belong to respective copyright owners (tokyopop, tachibana higuchi, etc.) and because the author has no affiliation with any of them, no profit is being made off of this fanfiction. Sankyu!  
GENRE: romance, humor  
SUMMARY: AU. Once classmates, then friends, and now...engaged? Ruka Nogi's life is about to be turned upside down. Natsume's just not aware. With the fate of a kingdom resting on their shoulders, is there anything else to do but get hitched? NatsumexRuka  
SERIES: Gakuen Alice (Alice Academy)  
OVERALL RATING: PG13 - translates into 'T' on FFN  
PAIRING: Natsume Hyuuga x Ruka Nogi (natsuruka)

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Prince Natsume stared at the sheet of paper his best friend held out towards his face. His eyes rapidly scrolled down the parcel, and he soon finished reading. And there was silence. Ruka knew better than to fidget under his friend's impassive gaze, and chose instead to think about how mnay ways he could play with his animal friends in the heaven he most certainly was heading for.

"...What is the meaning of this?" Natsume asked. Calmly.

Ruka let out a breath he did not he had been holding; he was alive for a second longer.

"Well, the old King has died..."

"I am well aware that my uncle is dead."

"And he left a will..."

"As all Kings do."

"And the will, which I've duplicated, clearly states that the next in line to the throne must be engaged within a year after the death of the previous king, or else--"

"Ruka; I can read."

"But you asked me for the meaning of this paper!" his best friend exclaimed.

"This is ridiculous!" Natsume declared angrily. Ridiculous...ridiculous; the word echoed throughout the empty chamber.

"I'm only sixteen, for Godssakes! Why do I need to get engaged?"

"Because you need to have a heir! King Chikuro probably didn't want non-royal blood on the throne..."

Ruka here, paused, glad that Natsume was finally mulling this over. Maybe his best friend would actually get hitched! Ruka mentally grinned at the idea of Natsume in wedding-attire. He would be sure to take a million blackmail pictures as payback for that--

"You're thinking about the rattlesnake incident, aren't you?" Natsume asked, interrupting Ruka's dream of Natsume in a pink "royal" wedding tux.

"Whose fault do you think that is?" Ruka grumbled, "It was traumatizing."

"If you'd only kept your mouth--" Natsume was about to retort.

However, now, the Imperial Page burst into the room, blaring trumpet, perfectly matched socks and all. Of course, he had to blow the godforsaken thing a couple times because the echoing of the banging door was obviously not enough. Natsume twitched; with the unbelievably annoying attendants (and courtly duties) he was seriously beginning to wonder if that "stroke" was really just suicide...

"Prince Natsume and Duke Ruka, tonight's Midsummer Eve Ball requires the your attendances." An Imperial banner was rolled up and down, and the toot of the trumpet signalled the ending of yet another useless announcement. As the Imperial Page made his way out of the room, the room's two inhabitants turned to roll their eyes at one another. Royalty was so overrated.

"So...what are you going to do about the will?"

"Burn it." Natsume replied flatly.

Ruka laughed in reply; his best friend was too predictable at times.

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It was now official.

Natsume was bored beyond belief. It was the second hour past the sunset, meaning that he had been watching Ruka politely dance with dazzling-in-love (ugly) girl after girl. He himself was rejecting invitations to dance left and right. These girls should be able to understand that if one of them were the last female in the kingdom, he'd turn gay! Not only could Ruka beat them in any beauty contest, but personality, voice tone, and raw talent as well.

"Natsume-oujisama, could you please be my--"

And here, Natsume felt he had had enough. This was the bottom of the barrel. Standing up from his throne, he turned around to shoot a glare at the girl. His imposing eyes travelled from her face (those trembling lips, unlike Ruka who was never scared of him) to her neck (completely coated in some disgusting man-made powder or another) to the edge of her dress (cut too low, it showed the nonexistant cleavage).

"Don't flatter yourself by thinking I'd dance with trash like you."

And he descended down his throne, instantly being drawn to Ruka (damn his best friend's ability to attract wildlife of all sorts...). The blonde was currently in the midst of twirling a descendant of Lord Rumikawa. With a quarter of the brain cells, mind you.

"Excuse me," Natsume cut in.

He could practically see the thoughts oozing out of her brain; Natsume, Prince Natsume is going to dance with me!

He sneered.

Disgusting.

Taking Ruka's hand, as if they were five (and ballroom dancing partners, coincidentally), Natsume led a bewildered blonde to the center of the dance floor, ready to spit on his uncle's grave, and the entire tradition of a Midsummer Eve Ball. Some things just needed to be cut.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Alice Court, this will be the final dance of the Midsummer Eve Ball, please select your partners for Mozart's 40th Symphony."

Ruka's face paled as he tried to pull his hand back. Desperately. Natsume hung on, however, worried that some ugly girl would forcibly take him as a dance partner (out of desperation) if he were partnerless.

"Natsume...!" Ruka hissed angrily, attempting to yank his handout with more force.

"Relax...it's not like we're gay or anything..." his best friend chided jokingly.

"But--!" Ruka was interrupted by Natsume yanking the two of them down into a 'coup-deat', pulling his left arm out, while extending his right back. Of course, there was a floor-lean on his side, and by the time Ruka had gotten ahold of his thoughts, Natsume was twirling him in a more complicated version of the 'deelah'.

"Natsume!" Ruka tried again, as the two of them melted back into the Classic Waltz movements.

"What?" the taller of the two spun Ruka from arm to arm, causing the audience to gasp (again).

"We...should not be--" Ruka started.

But then, Natsume had already went in for the finale and Ruka's face turned ashen, for that meant the song was almost over.

Step-step-kick.

Twirl, jump, leap.

And with a grace of spins that would make swans turn green with envy, Natsume threw Ruka in the air. The courtiers gasped as the final notes of the melody were playing. Ruka was caught in a double 'coup-deat' and the lights dimmed.

"NATSU--!" Ruka was prepared to scream, but applause drowned out his voice.

His dance partner smirked cheekily, just as a beam of light shot out towards them from above. Ruka's face flooded with blood.

"The engagement between Prince Natsume and Duke Ruka is acknowledged by the Alice Coventry Council." A bland voice said, dooming them all with a final, "May many congratulations be sent and prosperity be given to the bond these two share!"

And there was a beat. For silence.

For a millionth of a second.

And then, uproarious applause and whispers that, while soft, could most certainly be heard.

Of course, Natsume's scream beat it all.

"WHAT?!"

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	2. An Outrageous Reason

**My Fiancee, the King**

( Chapter Two )  
( **An** Outrageous _Reason_ )

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: **to those who reviewed, thanks so much! I know this sounds crazy, but I'm very grateful to have people tell me coherently (believe it or not, that's you Reality's Eyes) why they don't like the pairing! While I can't say I liked your review a ton, it was touching to know that your's was better written than some of the positive reviews. But just for the record, I don't really plan to discontinue the story. Thanks again! 8D**

AUTHOR: Alice (Classically Cliche)

DEDICATION: the person who started this whole mess! (dreamsofdestiny)

DISCLAIMER: All characters involved belong to respective copyright owners (tokyopop, tachibana higuchi, etc.) and because the author has no affiliation with any of them, no profit is being made off of this fanfiction. Sankyu!

GENRE: romance, humor

SUMMARY: AU. Once classmates, then friends, and now...engaged? Ruka Nogi's life is about to be turned upside down. Natsume's just not aware.

SERIES: Gakuen Alice (Alice Academy)

OVERALL RATING: PG13 - translates into 'T' on FFN

PAIRING: Natsume Hyuuga x Ruka Nogi (natsuruka)

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"I am well aware that our kingdom is one of many traditions, crazy, crazy and crazier. However, what I'm wondering about is why the hell no one told me about this stupid tradition? I mean, gee, if the whole point of getting engaged is to get married and have kids, well that's going to be a BIG help if my supposed fiancee is a guy!" Natsume fumed loudly at the Courtly Conference Hall.

"But I did try to tell you!" Ruka near-wailed.

"When?" His best friend spat, turning to whoever his flames could lick up next.

"Every single freakin' time you let me catch my breath! But oh NO! Prince Natsume obviously knows every trick in the book, from 'we're not gay' to 'it's just for fun! Obviously, you could never think of getting engaged to the person your final dance is with for Midsummer Eve Ball! Obviously you haven't read that in your god-knows-how-many history books the library has! Obviously!'"

And there was silence, while Ruka exhaled. Deeply.

He was going to need all the oxygen he could get.

One of the councilmen cleared his throat, and then prepared to speak. Ruka realized that now was probably not the best time to make up with Natsume, for fear that people would actually mistake them to be in love. Natsume, he realized, probably didn't care, as long as it wasn't true.

"If I may suggest a solution," the weary old man began, "Although the Alice Courtly Laws clearly states that two years after marriage are the minimal in order to file for a divorce, the law allows engagements to slide through the cracks. Meaning that if we send out the King's Seal, along with a retraction letter, it is the equivalent of calling the engagement off."

"Why didn't no one think of that before?" Natsume grumbled, taking out his pen in order to sign a retraction letter.

"Negative on the idea, Councilman Boki, with Ruka acting in as a standby," Natsume twitched and Ruka flinched at this comment, "the number of women standing by the palace gates have decreased dramatically. Furthermore, not a single female soul tried to sneak into the castle. This, of course, is a far cry from the normal twenty. Meaning that if it stays this way, we could use less Imperial Guards, and the kingdom would prosper!"

"That sounds like a good idea!"

"Lord Ruka is a very capable man."

"More money for the Treasury!"

These sentiments and more were hushedly whispered amongst the table, and Councilman Boki cleared his throat once more for silence.

"I understand and accept Councilman Jukoyami's point of view, and therefore, retract my earlier statement for the bettering of the Alice Kingdom."

"All hail the Alice Kingdom, All hail King Natsume and Queen--"

"You are not saying my name with a 'Queen' title attached to it." Ruka interjected. And there was silence in the room. After all, how else could they address the future...King's partner...to the throne?

"I'm leaving this courtly crap..." Natsume declared in a stark-white-rage tone. No one made any motions to stop him. Ruka fiddled with the pet rabbit he always kept at his side for a couple seconds.

Then, the blonde proceeded to leave the room with the mutterings of some half-made excuse or another, and the quiet thud of the grand door being closed was quite the contrast with Natsume's loud bang.

"I guess Ruka-sama went to comfort Natsume-sama, right?" Councilman Jukoyami half-joked.

"They're so obviously in love!" A courtly woman put in.

Quiet chuckles of young passions and dashing hopes soon ensued.

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Natsume did not need to turn to see who had entered his room. Ruka always did tend to have the most annoying habit of coming and going without any moment's notice. Turning to glance in a sideways manner at his best friend, Natsume was stricken with the hard fact that out of everyone here, Ruka was probably the one suffering the most.

The boy's face was ashen pale, and it was obvious that he had not yet told anyone in his family about his current crisis. Natsume's eyes softened; his friend was really too weak at times. Sweeping his cloak along the rooms floor, the Prince crossed the distance between the two of them with a single step, and all of sudden, he was a mere six inches away from Ruka.

"I'm scared," Ruka admitted with a half-hearted laugh. It seemed like it was self-loathing.

Natsume sighed, knowing that now wasn't the time for him to be selfish. He didn't have much kindness left in him, but the small amount he had left, he would gladly give to Ruka. Hand untrembling, he reached towards the sullen boy, hand starting from the roots of his hair, and gently gliding towards his sloping shoulders. It was now that Natsume would notice the difference between the two of them.

Where his hair was coarse and unkempt, Ruka's was silken and mannered.

Ruka, in turn, simply knelt his head down, so that his forehead was touching the base of Natsume's neck.

"Don't worry about it Ruka."

It was solemn, and emotionless. Years and years of royalty and customs had weld Natsume's voice into what is was today. However, Ruka knew how hard his friend was trying to not burn everything and everyone down despite it all. And for that reason, he clenched his teeth together and held back the threatening tears.

"It's...alright," Natsume whispered, "...to cry."

"I won't...!" Ruka whispered, "As long as you're suffering, I will not be the one to selfishly cry..."

Natsume felt a clenching at the back of his cloak--Ruka in one of his insecurity fits. He bit back a sigh and remained silent, unaware that Ruka had noticed the tensing of his body.

It didn't feel like quite so long, probably because his mind was occupying him with a multitude of thoughts, but eventually, Ruka fell asleep, leaning on Natsume's shoulder while standing upright. The fully-awake boy slowly leaned forward so that Ruka was now sleeping on the bed.

The blonde hair was still perfectly in-place, despite the earlier upheaval.

The peach skin was slightly redder near the face and neck, but otherwise unblemished.

And the heavy eyelids that did not seem to flutter at all were closed.

Natsume could not help but think that Ruka looked somewhat like a fairy tale princess in this sort of setting. Exhaling softly, he gently pulled the covers over the sleeping body, so that the cold would not get to him. The pained expression on his face was illuminated by the setting afternoon sun. They were all just puppets for the empire. Little puppets with big powers, in which the entity higher than all of them combined wished to harness.

And Ruka was just one of the victims trapped in it all.

A fist clenched, and a vow was made. Even if it killed him, Natsume swore he would set them all free. Ruka, and himself, would one day, be able to go outside, to live a life without their dangerous abilities, or otherworld beings.

One day.

_It's alright for you to cry, because even though you don't know it, you're crying in place of me_...

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	3. Sounds of Threats

**My Fiancee, the King**

( Chapter Three )  
( **Sounds** of _Threats_ )

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AUTHOR: Alice (Classically Cliche)

DEDICATION: the person who started this whole mess! (dreamsofdestiny)

DISCLAIMER: All characters involved belong to respective copyright owners (tokyopop, tachibana higuchi, etc.) and because the author has no affiliation with any of them, no profit is being made off of this fanfiction. Sankyu!

GENRE: romance, humor

SUMMARY: AU. Once classmates, then friends, and now...engaged? Ruka Nogi's life is about to be turned upside down. Natsume's just not aware.

SERIES: Gakuen Alice (Alice Academy)

OVERALL RATING: PG13 - translates into 'T' on FFN

PAIRING: Natsume Hyuuga x Ruka Nogi (natsuruka)

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The Imperial Declaration of Half-Withdrawal in course to the Previous Utterance.

In regular terms: the probation period. Ruka would go back to his manor, talk it over a bit (or more) with his family, and Natsume would sit and torturously listen to hour upon hour of courtly banter. Back and forth, back and forth. Gay rights, the royal treasury, Alice Kingdom's dignity, true love, freedom, and much more had already been debated, conceded or won, and repeated. It was no exaggeration to say that Natsume felt that barbells were tied to his eyelids.

"But what about--?"

"The council must know that..."

"We might have overlooked--"

_No, there is nothing we could have possibly overlooked_. Natsume dryly thought, wondering if all these nobles and courtiers actually believed he was listening to them or if they just had too much free time on their hands...

"I feel that it is impertinent that we relook our decision on the treasury because..."

Too much free time was definitely the source of his current migrane. Natsume refrained from rubbing his temples impetuously, knowing that the Imperial Page would most certainly blare out a declaration of his laziness. And although he was almost contemplating doing if only to get these idiots to shut the hell up, it would probably be a stupid move further out into the future. So, Natsume simply sighed resignedly, concentrating on a small dot in the wood table, hoping that the nobles and councilmen and courtiers would eventually notice that no one cared.

"As previously stated, Prince Natsume needs an heir!"

"No, he needs to be engaged."

"The engagement is for the birth of an heir!"

"As long as the will does not explicitly say so, we have all rights to assume engagement is the only neccessity."

"You mean he's not even going to engage out of love?"

"The throne is at stake here, who gives a rat's ass about love!"

"If there is no child, the royal blood will die!"

"I absolutely refuse to be part of a kingdom in which the Royal house is gay."

Natsume sincerely hoped that Ruka was having a good time on probation period. His family was relatively nice and sane. Simple rich folk who had lived the life of luxury ever since their great-grandparents. Ruka (the lucky one...) was probably eating scones and drinking tea, talking to his animal playmates about how silly it all was, and how absurd it would be. To be engaged at age 16! To your (same gendered) best friend!

He gave a dark chuckle to himself.

What a crazy world indeed.

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Ruka, at this moment in time, was indeed eating scones and drinking tea. His faithful rabbit friend (Usagi-chan, as he had lovingly named it) was by his side, and its whiskers twitched ever so lightly when the wind blew by. However, there were no other animal friends to frolick with, and the tense atmosphere was a bit too thick for his liking. His mother and father were poised regally on their sides of the garden table, and a butler and maid were timidly serving pastries of every shape and size.

However, there was a girl, a blonde like him, sitting to his right. Her head was knelt and her face was hidden by the shade of the trees and parting of her hair.

It was weird because last time he checked, he couldn't remember having a sister or a cousin of any sorts...

"Ruka-chan," his mother began, smiling sweetly at him, "This is Luna-chan."

"Hello, Luna-chan," Ruka repeated kindly, smiling and bowing his head politely. The girl looked up with wide eyes that blinked frequently.

"Hello..." she murmured dully. Lady Nogi giggled at the supposed "adorable-ness" of "Luna-chan" and they foursome continued eating their afternoon tea and snacks in silence. Ruka stroked his rabbit fondly, glad that despite the awkward air, Usagi-chan made everything alright.

"Mother, Father," Ruka began, not really certain how to break the news to his parents. Obviously, the exchange of looks they gave one another told him all he needed to know. They had already heard from the grapevine: he was 'technically' engaged with Prince Natsume.

"I'm--"

BLOOT!

And for the umpteenth time, Ruka was interrupted by someone. Or in this case, the trumpet of the Imperial Page. A procession appeared out of nowhere, Natsume in the middle of it all, obviously.

"Prince Natsume! What an honor!" Both his parents and the girl kneeled. Ruka just stared.

"Queen Ru--"

"You are not saying my name with a 'Queen' title attached to it." Ruka repeated.

There was a brief silence, as the Imperial Page scrambled to get the words across his brain.

"Lord Ruka, of the Alice throne, is having his prescence requested in the bequeathing of Former King Chikuro (may he rest in peace)'s will. Now if you may, Lord Ruka, please board the Imperial carriage, for the meeting will begin in three hours."

Ruka made no motion to board the carriage.

"Ruka-chan, board the carriage," his mother said kindly, giving him a gentle push, "the Prince requests your prescence."

Ruka nodded numbly while boarding. Natsume gave a quick nod to his parents as acknowledgement and climbed onto the horse-drawn carriage as well. With a "bloot!" of the trumpet, the Imperial Page closed the door and commanded everyone to make way for the Future King and King's Partner (Ruka had thrown a shoe at him for almost declaring the Q-word).

_Well that was absolutely awful..._Ruka thought, reaching a hand to wave to his parents.

It was sad that he never bothered to look out, or behind for that matter. Otherwise, he would have noticed one less head, and one extra person with the luggage...

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The Alice Coventry Council, was, as it had been for the past three days, in a total chaos. Councilmen were pathetically attempting to hold order, while the general public was trying to get in and give their two cents. And most importantly, in the midst of it all, no one had realized that the two being discussed at the moment had somehow managed to slip out of sight...

"So what's been decided?" Ruka asked curiously. The two of them were strolling around aimlessly in one of the many gardens.

"With these people? It's a wonder they know a decision's being made..." Natsume grumbled, pausing to flick back his (much-hated) cloak. "How did your parents take the news of our engagement?"

"Your page interrupted me when I was trying to tell them," Ruka replied.

"People seem to be doing that a lot nowadays."

"Is the engagement on or off?"

"Do you have an opinion here?" Natsume did not really that he had shifted his weight in anticipation. Thankfully, Ruka didn't notice either.

"Nnn, it doesn't really make that much of a difference. I know Mother would be delighted to have you as a son-in-law," Ruka said jokingly.

"So you really don't have any opinion at all?" Natsume pressed on.

"Of course I--"

"He wouldn't ever want to get married to someone like you!" An accusing voice pointed out. Ruka and Natsume both turned simultaneously to see the third person to have interrupted Ruka.

Ruka gasped. Blonde hair, feminine voice...it was the girl from afternoon!

"Lina-chan?" he gaped.

"It's Luna-chan, Ruka-kun," she said crisply, and then turned to Natsume, "And there is no way I will let Ruka-kun be engaged to someone like you!"

"It's Ruka's decision to make, not your's." Natsume replied bluntly. Of course, he had to stress the fact that he knew Ruka well enough to not have to use a '-kun' at the end. Thankfully, Ruka stepped up to intervene.

"Luna-chan, why are you here?"

"To take my fiancee back to the manor, where he belongs, of course."

"W H A T? !" Both boys exclaimed. Ruka looked absolutely shocked speechless, however, Natsume reacted more noticeably. Grabbing Ruka's wrist, he pulled the shorter boy to him, glaring at Luna all the while.

"He's my fiancee, not yours."

"Well you're the one who wants to break off the engagement so bad, Natsume-sama." she made a clear indentation on the honorific, "I see no reason to not have a fiancee as of now, especially one that was justed dumped by the prince."

"Well the breaking-off that you spoke of was unofficial. So Ruka's still mine."

"Prince Natsume! Lord Ruka!" the Imperial Page and Guards rushed to the scene. Luna snapped her fingers; instantly, the world became black. Natsume and Ruka felt a person near them, and a feminine whisper of...

"Watch out, Ruka will be mine."

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"The choice of the decision being made by those involved outweighs outside involvement in a vote of sixteen to four." The Head of the Alice Coventry Council reported. In translation: the fates would be decided by Ruka and Natsume.

There was a beat, and then silence. The thought of Ruka being engaged to that girl made Natsume sick, and the thought of losing the throne seemed just as bad. There were just too many pros and not enough cons, other the all-outweighing factor of sexuality. The two of them would probably be laughed out of every Kingly Council they attended, and he seriously wondered if Ruka actually liked him.

"Prince Natsume, may I ask for your hand in marriage?" Ruka said solemnly, getting down on one knee and presenting a ring box. There was a gasp among everyone.

"What. The. Hell." Natsume monotoned. A cloud of rage bubbled around him, but Ruka paid it no mind. After all, he had stolen Natsume's line! For once, he was the one calling the shots! Other than the imminent doom, the world seemed bright after all!

"Is that a yes?" Ruka said hopefully.

"No way am I handing you over to that Luna girl..." And Natsume swiped the box, slid the finger down Ruka's hand, and sealed the deal with a kiss.

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	4. A Lucrative Kidnapping

**My Fiancee, the King**

( Chapter Four )  
( **A** Lucrative _Kidnapping_ )

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(x)

AUTHOR: Alice (Classically Cliche)

DEDICATION: the person who started this whole mess! (dreamsofdestiny)

DISCLAIMER: All characters involved belong to respective copyright owners (tokyopop, tachibana higuchi, etc.) and because the author has no affiliation with any of them, no profit is being made off of this fanfiction. Sankyu!

GENRE: romance, humor

SUMMARY: AU. Once classmates, then friends, and now...engaged? Ruka Nogi's life is about to be turned upside down. Natsume's just not aware.

SERIES: Gakuen Alice (Alice Academy)

OVERALL RATING: PG13 - translates into 'T' on FFN

PAIRING: Natsume Hyuuga x Ruka Nogi (natsuruka)

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Natsume was forced to admit that the Council Meeting had gone relatively well. No one had died on the floor after the kiss, nor had anyone thrown tomatoes at them in their (all too) grand exit. The reading of the will had been run of the mill at best, telling of how Natsume was now King, and how his future Queen (although Ruka adamantly refused to be called by such a title) was allowed all the wealth and glamour in which the life of royalty was entitled to.

As if King Chikuro didn't know that whomever he was engaged to, would most certainly come from a near-royal family.

Councilmen, courtiers, and fangirls(boys, things) all properly dealt with, there was only one thing left to deal with. Of course, this problem could not just disappear with a wave of an Imperial wand, or any sort of threat. And more importantly, this sort of problem was like a ticking bomb; no one knew when it was about to go off...

"Ruka, don't be childish."

There was no response from the once-Lord, who was walking (and pointedly ignoring the King) ahead.

"Ruka, it's stupid for you to be mad."

No reply.

Natsume sighed, switching tactics.

"If you don't say anything in the next five seconds, I'm going to kiss you again." And here, the other boy flinched in response and Natsume almost-grinned. Bingo. In his head, he started a silent countdown, knowing that Ruka would open his mouth on the three.

Five flames, four flames, three flames...silence. Two flames? Maybe Ruka had lost track of time... (although the chances of that happening were as slim as Natsume marrying Luna) One last...little...itty-bitty...single...flame. Natsume stared at Ruka, whose back was still facing him. He wondered if the kiss had meant that much to his friend.

However, he had a semi-threat to follow through with, so he walked up towards Ruka's unmoving figure, and pulled him back by the shoulder.

...And was met face-to-face with a pouting blonde. Natsume blinked once, twice, thrice. It took a while for him to regain his thoughts, those lips had never looked so kissable before. He was about to lean in for the kiss, but Ruka turned his head to the left at the last second, so that Natsume was kissing his cheek. Of course, it wasn't that Natsume minded, however, those cheeks weren't as--

His conscious interrupted. When did Prince (now King) Natsume ever think of people's lips being kissable?

Never, that's when.

"Natsume, I want to lead." Ruka's voice cut into Natsume's self-depreciation. The blonde lightly kissed the raven-haired King's forehead. Natsume flinched at the soft contact, pulling away instinctively. Usagi-chan chose the wrong time to hope down from Ruka's shoulder, and the entire collection went tumbling down in a grand chaotic mess because they were never leaning on any tree.

"Mmmph..."

Arms and legs were tangled, but Natsume didn't mind because his lips...were touching Ruka's lips! And Ruka didn't mind! He had no idea whether this giddy feeling inside of him was because of Ruka's natural pheromones or...something else entirely. Closing his eyes and allowing his arms to loop around Ruka's smaller frame, the exhaustion suddenly crept up on him, and he was defenseless to the world of slumber.

"Natsume--!" Ruka yelped as a sturdy hand cupped over his mouth. The world suddenly felt dizzy. His eyes were heavy, and he was sleepy. Ah, sleep would be ideal at a time like this...

"Usa-chan..." Ruka mumbled as he was taken away.

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"Your Highness! Your Highness!"

Natsume blinked blearily at the sea of faces (noses and eyes and mouths) that seemed to be staring at him. His brain was not working and the only thing it seemed to be able to say was:

"Wha?"

"It's terrible!" the Imperial Page announced loudly, "Queen Ruka has been taken hostage while you were sleeping!"

"WHAT?!"

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	5. The Insane Escape Plan

**My Fiancee, the King**

( Chapter Five )

( **The** Insane _Escape Plan_ )

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AUTHOR: Alice (Classically Cliche)

DEDICATION: the person who started this whole mess! (dreamsofdestiny)

DISCLAIMER: All characters involved belong to respective copyright owners (tokyopop, tachibana higuchi, etc.) and because the author has no affiliation with any of them, no profit is being made off of this fanfiction. Sankyu!

GENRE: romance, humor

SUMMARY: AU. Once classmates, then friends, and now...engaged? Ruka Nogi's life is about to be turned upside down. Natsume's just not aware.

SERIES: Gakuen Alice (Alice Academy)

OVERALL RATING: PG13 - translates into 'T' on FFN

PAIRING: Natsume Hyuuga x Ruka Nogi (natsuruka)

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Ruka (soon to be queen, he was sadly reminded) Nogi awoke with his blonde hair tousled lightly. He blinked his eyes blearily, while trying to recall what happened before. He and Natsume had been talking about...something. And then he had blacked out, and now he was...here.

The walls were bare, but gold shone on the floor.

It was obvious that this was a place no person should live in. However, the pillow under his head said otherwise, and Ruka bit back a yawn. Judging by the rise of the sun through the bars--

Wait, bars?

Eyes snapping open and forcing his body to sit upright, it didn't take long for Ruka to grasp his situation. He was in a warehouse of some sort, it was almost morning, and jewelry aplenty lay in heaps at his feet. Any normal person would probably be kissing the loads of gold, but he was no commoner. If anything, it was starting to look like he was a hostage of some sort...judging by the chains that bound his feet to the legs of the bed.

Lovely.

Rolling his eyes, Ruka decided anyone stupid enough to kidnap him (and chain him to a bedpost he could easily break) was probably not worth waking up early in the morning for. After all, in his younger years, he had met his share of kidnappers, both crazy and genius. These buffoons might have thought he was a piece of gold for all he knew.

Sinking back under the less-than-royal covers, he wondered off-handedly if Natsume had noticed he was gone.

Of course, as soon as he met his captors, he would demand to be released, but it didn't hurt to dream about how the kingdom would react to the almost-immediate kidnapping of the future--

BANG.

"Dang, that girl was not worth the trouble." Someone grouched, not bothering to swing back the door.

"I know, we had to chlorophyll both of their mouths in order to get them to let go!" Another voice replied to the first, this one sounded dumber.

"Tha's what we get for kidnapping the Prince's lover!" And yet a third voice, cracklier than the rest spoke up.

"Soon to be King, you know."

Ruka twitched, not liking to be referred to as the "Prince's Lover." Deciding the overheard conversation was all he needed in order to gauge his captor's intelligence, he swung his body around, eyes dead-serious at the thought of being deprived of sleep.

"Can you people be quiet? I'm trying to sleep."

"Sh-She's awake!" The first stuttered. Ruka tried not to look annoyed: these people were certified idiots alright. Refraining from making any other uncourtly actions, he sat up, smiling a disturbing smile.

"You do know that kidnapping me was possibly the stupidest move you could have done, right?"

"Wha?" This totally threw Dummy Number Two (as Ruka had playfully dubbed him) off-guard, "Why?"

"Because..." Ruka started with a frown-smile.

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"I'll hang them from the gallows, and then skin them when they're half-dead. Finally, I'll give them a kind death of warm flames slowly licking their way up their bloodied bodies..." Natsume muttered, smiling wickedly at the thought of the dying perpetrators.

The Council decided now wasn't the time to comment on their Ruler's darker side.

Natsume Hyuuga paced from left to right in the throne room, wondering how Ruka was doing. It was stupid of him to...to what? Be engaged with him? Kiss him? Not handcuff their wrists together? The problem that the Council was beginning to catch on was that there was no reason for Ruka to not have been kidnapped, and all they could do was wait for some hide or hair from the kidnappers.

Finally stopping at the throne, Natsume sat down to brood. The stupid Councilmen were taking too long, as per usual, and soon, he swore he would have to take matters into his own hands. Of course, he would have to not get caught but between the...

""I mean of no offence, but what if the two of them are just lying so they may have more money for their honeymoon!"

and the

"We must act now, let us tear down every suspicious looking building and person in our valiant efforts to find our Queen!"

and of course, the

"I blame it on the fangirls. They're probably just hiding Ruka-sama away in hopes that Natsume will choose one of them..."

...it seriously sounded promising.

Right when Natsume was contemplating how to jump over the palace gates in the quickest manner possible, Usagi-chan scampered into the room, hopping into Natsume's arms. Raising a slightly bemused eyebrow, he observed the animal nibbling on his clothing in an almost-tugging manner.

"...How annoying..." Natsume said, wondering how the rabbit would react if he knew his master had been kidnapped. Probably wonder if Ruka had left her a lifetime supply of rabbits or something like that.

The rabbit however, was unrelenting in its tugging, and soon it was really starting to irk Natsume in his calculations of how long it would take to run to the nearest town. For once, he was thankful for a Councilmen's intervention, the man pointed out the desperately tugging mammal and soon all attention was drawn to Ruka's beloved pet.

"It looks like it is trying to get Natsume-sama to follow it!" Someone commented.

Natsume jerked up; how obvious was that? Feeling incredibly stupid, he rose up to follow the rabbit. It was stupid and possibly pointless, however, Natsume Hyuuga had had more than his lifetime's share of the council's indecisiveness.

And between his best friend's pet and the council, he'd the pick the animal anyday.

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"Are you sure you don't want to unchain me?" Ruka asked once more. He sighed; these people really didn't know how to stay alive...

"Look, girlie (Ruka twitched at the derogative), we're gonna use you as collaberal in order for the Prince to pay up some fees so that we'll live with even more rich and wealth!" And Dummy Number One laughed stupidly, as Ruka sneered in response.

"You mean collateral, right? And if you think you can get so much money in exchange for me, why didn't you just kidnap the Prince when you had the chance?"

The kidnappers honestly could give no response to that.

Ruka smirked; the sudden jilting was all he needed, blowing an extremely low whistle.

The kidnappers blinked.

Nothing happened.

"Haha, girlie. Just tryin' to psyche us, yeah? Well, we're too smart fo' someone like you!" Dummy Number Two laughed stupidly, as a tiny crack was hear to the left.

"...What was that?" Dummy Number Three asked.

The kidnappers turned to look at the open door behind them.

BAM!

Just as it was flooded with every sort of forest wildlife imaginable. Deers and bears, insects and raccoons, bats, birds, and snakes. All of them somehow squeezed through the doorway...just as front wall collapsed.

CRASH.

The kidnappers (Dummies One through Three) all gaped as their entire operation quite literally went tumbling down in flames.

Ruka, after his ankle had been freed from the binding, calmly walked over to his could-have-been-captors. Kneeling down to smirk in an almost-sinful fashion, he hissed into Dummy Number Three's ear,

"Just for your record, I'm a guy."

Ruka stood up from the crouching position, raising a hand above his eyes to observe his surroundings.

"That's strange...Usagi-chan should be coming right--"

"RUKA!" Natsume screamed


End file.
